A Family Unknown
by Coldman9
Summary: I don't feel I can do a summary for this. By far my longest fanfic. And I'm also sure this is my best, I don't think I'll be able to top this one. Please read and review, especially if you love IchiHime.


I don't own Bleach, Kubo Tite does.

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**A Family Unknown**

The sun shone brightly in Soul Society, it usually did. The citizens of Rukongai went about their daily task of surviving, fighting, and menial actions. Vendors sold the only thing that would sell, candy. Not many of the souls there needed to eat to live any longer, leaving the pleasure of taste, which meant that candy sold. Orihime was walking down a dirt street, having just bought some candy herself. But unlike the other residents, she actually felt hunger and needed to eat, the candy was for another. All the males took note of her as she walked by, her 'assets' more than obvious even though her kimono was loosely fit around her.

She hummed a small tune to herself, a memory from the world of the living, her favorite song. Eventually she came to the edge of the town; a small lake appearing that fed the river that ran through the town. At the very edge of the lake was a small home, a porch had been built over the water as well.

"Shiori!" Orihime called out happily through the house, "I'm back!"

"Mom!" the nine-year-old girl said as she ran into her mothers hug. The girl wore a yellow kimono herself, her hair matched Orihime's in color but her eyes were a deeper shade of grey, looking brown from a distance.

"Hey there Inoue." Orihime looked further into the room to see Ichigo sitting in front of the small fire, Zangetsu lying on the ground by him.

"Kurosaki-kun, when did you get here?" Orihime asked.

Every time she saw him, all the memories flooded back to her. She and Ichigo had lived into their eighty's in the living world, but when they died their souls resembled them when they had been teenagers. Some explanations had revealed that it was because they had used their strong reitsu when they were that age, thus their spirits were held in that form. And now they had been in Soul Society a good thirty years now. Ichigo had been accepted into the Gotie 13, already having proven his strength, and was made captain of Squad 5. A little ironic since it was he who defeated Aizen oh so long ago.

Ichigo had tried to convince her to join the Shinigami, but she refused. Ichigo knew the girl hated fighting and didn't push the subject any further, but had used his new status to get her a nice home, any supplies she needed, and protection against the less than admirable residents of Rukongai. Despite his busy schedule he also came to visit often. This was one such time.

"Just a little while ago actually." Ichigo picked up a stick and poked the logs in the fire, "I had some spare time and decided to come and visit. That's okay right?" he looked up at Orihime.

"Of course it's alright Kurosaki-taichou." Shiori said as she ran over to Ichigo and jumped on his back, "It's way too boring without you around."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ichigo put a finger to Shiori's forehead and pushed her off his back, "It's not 'Kurosaki-taichou' to you, I'm just plain Kurosaki."

"Okay Kurosaki," the girl giggled, "What did you bring me this time?"

Ichigo smiled at the girl and reached into his shuhaksho. When his hand came out he tossed her a small glowing orb, about the size of a golf ball. Shiori looked at the orb in wonder and awe, and then looked back at Ichigo.

"If you wanna know what it does then go outside and figure and out." Ichigo told her, Shiori breaking out in a large grin and ran outside.

"Kurosaki-kun, is that safe?" Orihime asked in a slight worry.

"Dunno, I just snagged it from Mayuri's lab before I left."

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"I'm just kidding Inoue." Ichigo stoked the fire again, sending up a few sparks, "It's supposed to allow people with low reitsu to hover in the air. She won't get far either so don't worry."

Orihime sighed and took a seat near the fire. After placing the candy somewhere where it would be safe from Shiori's hands she started some tea and she and Ichigo began small talk. Besides the usually annoying paperwork, running when Kenpachi decided they should fight, putting up with Byakuya's snobby attitude and Rukia's mockery of him being a captain, things were relatively normal for Ichigo. There wasn't much for the Gotie 13 to do without an enemy to fight.

Orihime told him about how she and Shiori were doing. Thanks to Ichigo they had a rather comfortable life style. After a few years the local residents had discovered Orihime's powers and often came to her if there was an injury or something. She was always more than happy to help when needed, and Shiori had made several friends. They would often run around and prank various vendors. The Shiba's would sometimes come to visit fit they were bored, even Rangiku too. Ichigo cringed at the thought of Rangiku being alone with Orihime and Shiori; he just didn't like the idea. Eventually the conversation came to an end and Ichigo's face took on its normal scowl and his eyes became serious.

"So," Ichigo said, Orihime recognizing the tone immediately and knowing where the conversation was heading, "has Shiori's father been around lately?"

"He comes and goes." Orihime replied quietly.

"He should be here." Orihime saw Ichigo's grip on the stick tighten, "He should be helping to take care of you two."

"He does, in his own way." Orihime wished she could steer the conversation somewhere else, but when Ichigo brought up the subject there was no changing it.

Ichigo's scowl only deepened and he poked the fire with more force than was necessary. He didn't know why brought up the subject, he didn't even know why it bothered him so much. Orihime was free to be with whom she wanted, she didn't need his permission. But the thought of her raising her daughter by herself, the lousy good-for-nothing nowhere to be seen, it just ticked him off considerably. He liked Shiori, they got along well, but he couldn't help but feel possessive too, if he ever met the girls father he'd have a long talk with him.

"Kurosaki! Mom! Help!" came Shiori's cry from outside.

In flash Ichigo and Orihime were at the door, it was shoved open forcefully. They looked around and eventually saw Shiori floating up in the air, but she didn't stay at one level, instead she was gradually rising higher and higher. She was flailing around but that didn't help much, the orb Ichigo had given her was tightly gripped in her left hand.

"Shiori, drop the orb!" Orihime called up, her panic rising incredibly.

"I can't!" Shiori replied, still rising.

"Just drop it! You'll keep floating up unless you let go!"

"I-I can't!" Shiori kept floating up, getting blurrier and blurrier.

"Shiori!" Ichigo called out, his voice dominating, "Drop the orb!"

Shiori looked down at the black blur that was Ichigo. She gulped, closed her eyes, and opened her left hand. She felt the sensation of floating stop for a brief second before gravity kicked in and she started falling to the ground, screaming her lungs out all the while. The falling sensation stopped as well as she felt someone grab her. She opened her eyes and found herself in Ichigo's grip. The next second they were on the ground, Orihime taking the girl from Ichigo's arms as he caught the orb and tucked it into his shuhaksho.

"Sorry." Ichigo apologized, "I guess I need to have Mayuri take a look at this thing. It shouldn't have done that." He looked up at the sun and realized just how late it was, "I should get back now. They probably have a ton of paperwork for me now."

"Then we'll see you later Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said, cradling Shiori in her arms. Despite what had happened, she knew Ichigo had, had good intention and didn't think thing would turn out like they had with Shiori's present.

"Kurosaki!" Shiori called out as Ichigo turned around and waved by, stopping him, "It was actually pretty fun at first. Promise you'll get it fixed?"

"As soon as it's fixed I'll bring it back." Ichigo promised with a small smile then disappeared with a flash-step.

Both females watched the place where Ichigo had disappeared for a second before they turned around to their home.

"Oh my!" Orihime took notice of the position of the sun as well, "I need to get dinner started." And rushed inside, followed by Shiori who loved to help with dinner.

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"_Kurosaki-kun, I can't." Orihime said in surprise as she finished walking through the newly built, lake-side home. It wasn't luxurious but it was comfortable. _

_Ichigo was standing on the porch, looking out into the great lake-view the porch provided. He turned his head when he heard Orihime make her way back to him. He adjusted his coat, still not used to wearing a captain's coat over his uniform._

"_Of course you can Inoue." He looked right at her, "I'm not going to force you to join the Gotie 13 and you need a place to live. What's wrong with me building a place for you?"_

"_It's just-"Orihime was at a loss for words, she was touched that Ichigo had done this for her. But at the same time, she felt like she was taking advantage of his new position and influence._

"_You don't have be embarrassed about taking this place." Ichigo walked by her, "It's already built, live in it or don't, it's your choice." He had to leave now, he still hadn't gotten used to the sheer amount of paperwork captains had to do, "But I had this place built for you. There's already firewood and food inside if you haven't seen already." _

_Ichigo disappeared from view leaving Orihime by herself on the porch. She was still for a few seconds, not knowing what to do, then her stomach gave a loud growl. Even though no one was around she turned beet-red with embarrassment._

'Well_' Orihime thought, '_I suppose it'll be okay to stay for just one night._' Then went inside to start her dinner._

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Ichigo tossed and turned on his bed, moonlight shining through his window and making strange shadows through the room. He could never understand why he had trouble getting to sleep after his visits to Orihime. He hadn't realized it before Rangiku pointed it out in a very teasing manner. Of course she had been implying something else but Ichigo was more shocked at the revelation.

He turned over and stared at the ceiling, rubbing his tired eyes. For some reason, he couldn't get what had happened with Shiori out of his mind. When she had started floating uncontrollably in the air he had felt such a worry for her. He really didn't understand that, she wasn't _his_ daughter. But he did care about the girl.

Finally he flopped over on his stomach and buried his face in the pillow, his arms spread out to both sides. He started cursing himself for bringing up the subject of Shiori's father. He knew Orihime didn't like it when he did. But the more he thought about it the more it bothered him. Whenever he brought up the subject to his friends they'd always give him a smile like they knew something he didn't. He believed the when they said they didn't know anything about Shiori's father, but he just couldn't understand how they'd smile when he was ticked off like that.

Eventually, very much later in the night, Ichigo managed to close his eyes and go to sleep. He had a mission the next day, some strong Hollow was consuming souls at an alarming rate in the living world and they were sending a squad of his with him just incase it was something important.

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_Boom! Boom! Boom, boom!_

_Orihime watched the fireworks over Seireitei from the open door of her home. Ichigo had invited her to the festival with all the other Shinigami but she had refused and was watching the show with her dinner in her lap. The display was amazing even though she was a good distance from it, the colors lit the sky brightly and she could some commotion in Rukongai, a lot the children liked to get together on high buildings and watch them too._

"_Yo, Inoue!" she looked out into the dark fields and saw Ichigo walking towards her, a large package under one arm and what looked like a bottle in his free hand._

"_Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, getting up and walking out to him, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Whaddya mean 'What am I doing here?'" there was a slight slur to Ichigo's words as he got closer, "You didn't come to festival so I brought some of the festival to you."_

_As Orihime reached Ichigo she noticed he was swaying from side to side. She quickly took the package under his arm away from him and headed back to the house, Ichigo following behind. When she got inside and could see with the light of fire, she noticed Ichigo was smiling in an odd fashion. But when she saw the bottle and its smell reached her she realized, Ichigo was drunk. The bottle was new since he took care not to let it tip over and took a long drink from it. _

"_Well, you gonna open it up or not?" Ichigo said in a joking manner._

"_Oh, of course." Orihime smiled and turned to the package. _

_After opening it she revealed several bentos of delicious smelling and looking food, a blue silk kimono embroidered with lotus flowers, and a large supply of snack food. She looked over as Ichigo took a seat by the fire, bottle still in hand and smiling at her expression. He took another drink._

"_Kurosaki-kun, th-this is-" she couldn't finish her sentence, everything seemed too good._

"_Don't even think about giving it back Inoue." Ichigo said, raising a hand and now swaying as he sat, "You said you didn't want to go to the festival, so I brought this here for you."_

"_B-But, this is just-" Orihime couldn't think of what to say. She looked over and knew that Ichigo would not take it back, no matter what, "Thank you." She smiled at him._

"_That's more like it." Ichigo smiled and took a very large drink from the bottle, "So you gonna try it on or not?"_

"_Eh?" Orihime looked down and saw the silk kimono, "Oh, right." And rushed off to another room with it. _

_She had to admit, it was really nice. It was a rather warm night and silk helped keep her a little cool, plus how it felt against her skin was nice too. When she came back out to show it to Ichigo she saw him sitting in the open doorway, watching the fireworks. He looked over with a smile as she took a seat by him and watched, munching on some of the snack food he brought. _

"_Well that's it." Ichigo said after a while, turning his bottle upside-down but only a few drops fell, "I better get back now." And stood up to leave._

_He took a step forward but didn't notice the small drop off between the house floor and the ground, and inebriated as he was, it was more like a several foot drop. He stumbled the second his foot hit the ground and started to fall over._

"_Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried out and was quickly on her feet to catch him. _

_Unfortunately he was much larger than her, and even without Zangetsu on his back he was still too heavy for her to handle. Luckily he only pushed her back and managed to stumble his way back onto the floor of the house where they both wound up against a wall, Ichigo instinctively put his hand out to stop himself. After the shock of what had happened wore off Orihime turned a deep red at realizing just how close the two were. _

_Ichigo's face was barely an inch away from her's, his hands on both sides. Their eyes were glued to each other and small shivers ran up her spine every time his warm breath reached her neck. There was a loud boom as an especially bright firework erupted in the sky, casting its bright light over them and illuminating each of their features for a brief few seconds._

"_Inoue." Ichigo whispered as he leaned in closer, locking his lips and hers._

_Her eyes widened in surprise for a second before they lazily lowered. She had wanted this for so long and here it was, she didn't want to let it go so easily. Somehow their arms had wrapped themselves around each other, pulling them closer and deeper into the kiss. After a while Ichigo's hands wandered down to the obi tied behind Orihime's back, although he was drunk he somehow managed to easily untie it quickly. Ichigo started moving further into the house, to another room he knew, bringing Orihime with him, the fireworks in the distance long forgotten._

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Orihime looked up from her book as she felt a strong reitsu outside her home. Shiori was inside, completing the writing lesson her mother had given her, as Orihime rushed through and opened the front door. It was quite a sight to behold, Captain Unohana standing at the front while two other Squad 4 members were behind her, carrying an unconscious Ichigo on a stretcher. From how his shuhaksho was opened Orihime could see bandages wrapped all over his torso and arms. He had the look of just having fought and the squad members carrying the stretcher didn't wait to run inside and set Ichigo down in a spare room.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried out worriedly as he passed by her, then turned to Unohana, "Unohana-san, what happened?"

"It appears the Hollow the squad had been sent to deal with had consumed enough souls to become an Arrancar. It surprised them and wounded nearly the entire squad. Kurosaki-taichou defeated it but also sustained the most damage." Unohana explained, "I took care of the brunt of it, he's in no danger. But our barracks are full with the injured. I thought it best to bring him here to recuperate; I also know he'd be glad to see you first thing when he awakens."

"So he just needs to rest." Orihime said, relaxing. Unohana nodded and walked in the house herself. As the other two squad members left to go back she checked on Ichigo before turning to leave herself.

"Mom, what's going on?" Shiori walked into the room, she saw Ichigo through the door and gasped, and "Kurosaki!" she ran over to Ichigo and gripped his arm, looking over every inch to make sure he was still alive.

"Oh my." Unohana stated calmly, a small smile on her face as she watched Shiori, "If I didn't know any better I'd say that girl and Kurosaki-taichou are quite alike." She turned her look to Orihime who tensed up and inhaled a sharp, quick breath and held it, "Dare I say, she could even pass as his daughter." Her eyes shouted that she knew a secret.

Orihime only nodded in response. Unohana gave Ichigo and Shiori one last look before she left the house. Once she had disappeared Orihime let out her held breath and looked over at Shiori. She walked into the room and put a hand on her worrying daughter's shoulder. Shiori looked up at her mother, and without Orihime having to say anything Shiori calmed down. Despite the massive amount of bandages and battle-worn look, Ichigo only looked like he was sleeping.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Shiori asked, still watching Ichigo.

"Of course, he's the strongest taichou in all of Soul Society." Orihime pulled her daughter close to comfort her. She could just feel Shiori's genuine concern and caring for Ichigo.

Shiori grew up without a father and Ichigo came around so often a lot of people joked that he was unofficially Orihime's husband. Unknown to Ichigo and Shiori, he had filled in the role of father to her. He was never angry with her, but stern and caring when needed, much like a real father. This concern for Ichigo was just like if a father had been injured, even though they knew he'd be alright they still worried and wouldn't leave his side until he awoke.

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_Orihime quietly sipped her tea as she looked out onto the misty lake. The sun was still low in the sky, a new day almost ready to begin. She still wore the blue, silk kimono Ichigo had given her the night before. There was dreamy look in her eyes and a deep blush came to her face as she replayed the night's events in her mind. _

"_Ow! Damn, my head." Ichigo moaned in pain as he found his way outside onto the porch, gripping his head and squinting, "Oh, sorry Inoue." He apologized when he realized she was out there as well._

"_It's fine Kurosaki-kun." Orihime smiled at him as he sat. She pushed over a platter holding another cup of tea, still warm._

_Ichigo took the tea and started drinking. After a while his pained expression disappeared, the tea helping to stop his headache. _

"_That's the last time I drink with Shunsui and Rangiku." He muttered, letting his eyes drift over the lake. Eventually they landed on Orihime, "Uhm . . . Inoue, did we do something last night?"_

"_EH!?" Orihime nearly dropped her cup and started fidgeting, luckily Ichigo's hangover was still bad enough so that he didn't notice, "W-W-Why do you ask?" she managed to smile innocently at him._

"_Well, I remember coming over to bring you a present. I remember the fireworks. But after that all I have are short bits of you." Ichigo's face turned slightly red at the thought of some of those bits, faded just enough to give him hope they were just a dream._

"_Um . . ." Orihime's mind was racing a mile a minute. Ichigo had been drunk last night, he probably didn't really mean anything he did. And she knew that if she told him the truth, he would feel like he had taken advantage of her and would keep his distance, maybe never seeing her again, "N-No, not really." She looked over at Ichigo, "After the fireworks you wanted to go back but I thought you were too drunk so I said you could stay here. You said you were fine and decided to shunpo away but ended up running into a wall."_

_Ichigo flinched at the idea of flash-stepping into a wall. But that explained why he felt somewhat sore this morning. He sighed in relief that those images he had were just a dream, but still felt bad that he had, had a dream like that. He gave Orihime a small smile as he finished his tea._

"_I really should get back now." Ichigo said standing up, "I don't like to let my squad take it easy when chances are good they all have a hangover."_

"_Goodbye Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said as he left, a sad look in her eyes as she let him go._

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Ichigo slowly but steadily opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was falling into unconsciousness, his squad calling out for him as he fell forward, exhausted and bleeding heavily while the Arrancar faded away behind him. But he was confused; he didn't smell alcohol, sterilized equipment, or medicine, which was the usual smell from the Squad 4 hospital. And what's more, the ceiling seemed different than it should be. Ichigo turned his head and quickly came to the conclusion that he was in a house, but not his own. He turned to his right and was surprised to see Shiori lying on the floor beside him, a blanket draped over her sleeping form, her hand holding tightly onto his sleeve.

Ichigo smiled at the girl kindly and gently pulled her hands off of his uniform. He sat up, a little uneasily since he was pretty sore and still slightly injured, and looked around. Yep, he was definitely in Orihime's house. Before he stood up to leave Ichigo lifted up Shiori's head and put the pillow he had been using under her. The little girl groaned a little and nestled into the pillow. Ichigo smiled again and rubbed her head, calming her down and putting her back into a peaceful sleep, then pulled her blanket up and left the room.

He walked through the house and out onto the lake-side porch where Orihime was sipping tea and having some food.

"Hey." He called out quietly to catch her attention.

"Kurosaki-kun, you're alright." Orihime smiled up at him, but Ichigo could see that she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Yeah, although I'm wondering how I ended up here." Ichigo took a seat and helped himself to a little of a food.

"Unohana-san brought you here after she healed you. She said she only took care of the brunt of it and that all you needed to do was rest. She brought you here since the Squad 4 barracks were pretty full and thought you'd like to see me and Shiori once you were fine."

"You both were still worried about me though, weren't you?" Ichigo gave Orihime a guilty look.

"Of course we were worried, you're an important person to us." The voice Orihime used wiped the guilt from Ichigo's face, "Shiori refused to leave you all night."

"Yeah, I saw her when I woke up." A small smile came to Ichigo's lips, "Even though she was asleep she was gripping my sleeve tightly."

"Of course, you're . . . you're like a father to her."

A strange look came to Ichigo's face and Orihime immediately regretted what she said. It had been the truth but that look made her feel uneasy.

"I should be her father." Ichigo said, only loud enough for him and Orihime to hear, surprise showing on Orihime's face, " The last thing I was thinking about as I fell unconscious was you and Shiori." He admitted.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime was touched and surprised.

"It bothers me Inoue." Ichigo continued, "It bothers me that I'm not Shiori's father, that the bastard isn't around for you two, that . . . that . . . you and he-" Ichigo didn't know how to finish his sentence.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder, Ichigo continued to sadly glare at the lake, she took a deep breath, "There's something I need to tell you."

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"_Lunch at Inoue's." Rukia said to herself as she, Ichigo, and Renji walked through the field to Orihime's house by the lake._

"_I dread to wonder what she's making us." Renji said, earning himself an elbow to his gut from Rukia._

"_Don't be rude Renji, she's making us lunch. And I expect you to eat every bite she puts in front of you."_

"_Alright, alright." Renji rubbed his stomach and groaned, "You have become so bossy since I asked you out."_

"_You know you like it." Rukia said smugly as Renji pulled her close to him._

"_Ugh, get a room you two." Ichigo groaned._

_Finally they reached Orihime's house and Ichigo was happy to have someone besides the new couple around. _

"_Hey Inoue." Ichigo called happily as he pushed the front door open._

"_Hello Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-chan, Abari-san." She greeted, she could only turn her head since her back was to them as she stoked the fire."_

_The smiles of the group was replaced by sheer shock as Orihime stood up, in a strange fashion, and turned around to reveal a very swollen stomach. The only parts of the three that moved were their eyes as they looked from the stomach to Orihime's somewhat embarrassed smile. _

"_You're . . . pregnant." Rukia managed to say stepping forward, her shocked expression becoming a smile, "Congratulations!" she pulled Orihime into a hug, careful to make sure it wasn't too tight._

"_Ha, didn't know you had it in you Kurosaki." Renji smirked while he lightly bumped Ichigo with his elbow._

"_Not . . . me." Ichigo said, staying frozen._

"_Oh." Everyone's expression fell to awkward as a silence filled the house._

"_The food!" Orihime cried, breaking the silence and turned back to the fire._

"_No, no, no Inoue." Rukia beat her to the pot over the fire, "You sit down, Renji and I will deal with the food." She saw that Ichigo was still frozen, "Oi, Ichigo. Don't tell me you've never seen a pregnant woman before. Get your ass over here and sit down." She ordered._

_Ichigo broke from his trance. He scratched the back of his head as he looked over at Orihime, who was unwilling to meet his gaze. Awkwardly he walked over and took a seat. Through the rest of the visit he felt like he was on autopilot, not taking note of the conversation or realizing what he was eating. _

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That same look was on Ichigo's face again, frozen shock. Orihime was unwilling to meet his gaze again and ended up looking at the lake. There was a sad look in her eyes, she had just told Ichigo everything, and now it was all settling into his head.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun." She said quietly, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Ichigo asked in a calm voice. Orihime flinched at the sound of it, although it held nothing bad for her.

"Because I knew you'd think you took advantage of me that night, and then you'd avoid me." She tried to stop it but a single tear rolled down her face, she thanked fate it was the side that was facing away from Ichigo, "But you didn't take advantage of me Kurosaki-kun. I had wanted to be with you like that for so long. Even back when we were alive, I felt this way about you. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so happy, I'd dreamed about it for so long. I wanted to tell you, but I also wanted you to be with me because you loved me and wanted Shiori, not because you would think you had to be." She looked at the floor in front of Ichigo, still unable to look at him, "You deserve the truth though. She's yours Ichigo, she always has been. And I'm so sorry that-"

Orihime was interrupted by Ichigo's lips on hers. Surprise set in again before she let herself relax and melt into him. When they parted he placed a finger on her lips to keep her quiet as he looked into her eyes. His own eyes full of happiness, kindness, and love.

"You have nothing to apologize for . . . Orihime." Ichigo gave her a true smile, "I have you, and I have Shiori." He pulled her into a deep hug, "I have a family." He whispered into her ear.

Orihime couldn't stop the tears as they reached her eyes, no longer sad, but happy. She had wanted this, this moment, this feeling, for so long. She gripped Ichigo tight, as if she was afraid what was happening would fade away if she let go.

"Mom?" Ichigo and Orihime looked over to see a tired and surprised looking Shiori in the doorway, holding her blanket around her in the cool morning air.

"Shiori, how long have you been there?" Orihime asked as she and Ichigo pulled apart.

Shiori didn't say anything as she walked towards them, the blanket dragging behind her. She still held her surprised expression as she stopped in front of Ichigo and looked at him, "Daddy?" she asked, tears starting to form in her own eyes.

Ichigo burst into a big smile at her question. He nodded his head as he leaned over and grabbed the girl in a hug, blanket and all. Shiori still registered shock on her face when he pulled her into the hug, but after a second her tears started running down her face and she gripped her father in as tight a hug as she could managed,

"Daddy." Shiori cried, her happiness too much to handle by herself anymore.

Ichigo couldn't stop smiling as Orihime joined the two in a hug. This was right, this was what he had wanted, this was what he had been kept up night for. This . . . was his family.

**End**

**This is for sure my longest fanfic so far. And this one really hit me emotionally, and I wrote it for crying out loud. I hope you all enjoyed it too.**


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